The Night Follows the Day
by LadyKong
Summary: Sequel to Avenger 2.0. Felger resigns his position at SGC and events follow from there.
1. The Resignation

Chapter 1: The Resignation

It was the absolute worst day of her life. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. How could he do that to her? How could they let him do that to her? Set aside the fact that she was unemployed. Heck, she probably had enough saved up to last at least six months, maybe even a whole year if she tightened her belt enough. That was the least of her concerns. Her biggest worry was that she could no longer be around _him. _

She loved him, adored him, and maybe even worshipped him. He was her reason to wake up in the morning, the best thing about going to work in that lab. But now she'll never see him again. He was like oxygen to her. How was she going to live without him? She wanted to jump up and scream for him not to resign, but she just sat there like a dumb little lamb waiting to be slaughtered.

"Are you certain you want to do this, Doctor Felger?" asked General O'Nell as he took the resignation letter.

"Yes, General, I am certain."

"You worked very hard for this position. It's a shame that you are giving it up so quickly."

"I belong in the academic world, sir."

"All right, Doctor Felger," said General O'Nell as he shook his hand. "Your resignation is effective at noon, tomorrow. Thank you for all your service, and I, on behalf of all the crew, I wish you the best of luck."

As Cloe follows Jay out of the room, General O'Nell calls her back.

"Doctor Weston, you are a pretty good scientist in your own right. If you want Doctor Felger's old job, it's yours."

"That's a very generous offer, sir. But I think my road is also leading me somewhere else."

"All right. Let me know if you change your mind."

"I will if I do."

Like she would. Staying on the base would just be too painful. His memory would be on every key of every computer she touched. It would be in every test tub and every bottle of chemicals. The thought of his working in different lab with a bunch of yippy grad students just made her sick.


	2. An Extra Large Pizza with the Works

Chapter 2: An Extra Large Pizza with the Works

Cloe made her way to the lab to clean out her desk and wash out a few last test tubes, hoping against hope that she wouldn't bump into him. She didn't have time for wallowing now; that would come later. She worked as quickly as she possibly could, knowing that he would have some more paperwork that would take him at least an hour. That would be plenty of time for her to get the lab ready for move-out inspection.

On one of the chairs, she noticed that he had left his old MIT sweatshirt that he always put on when the lab got cold. Without missing a beat, she stuffed the shirt into her trash bag, put all of Jay's stuff minus the sweatshirt into a neat pile, did a couple of last minute wipe-downs to get it looking just like it did their first day there, and then fled the lab about as quickly as she entered it.

Back at her apartment, she could finally let it all hang out. After changing from the stuffy skirt and blouse into some jeans and a t-shirt, she opened the trash bag and fished out the sweatshirt. She buried her face in it before putting it on. Then she dialed her favorite pizza joint.

"Hey, Mickey."

"Chloe! You called early today. It's only one."

"I want an extra large with the works and the crust just the way I like it."

"The works? Doctor Felger must have really been hard today."

"Nope. He resigned and terminated my position. Could you also have Tony pick up a half gallon of chocolate ice cream and some tissues on the way over? I'll be sure to tip generously."

"You always do. Did you know that Tony usually makes more off you in a week than all our other customers combined? I'll be sure that you get the best wallowing food you can. You are our number one customer. We'll miss you, especially on Friday."

About forty-five minutes later, Tony arrives with the pizza Chloe ordered, a half gallon of "Death by Chocolate" ice cream, two boxes of tissues, tortilla chips and cheese dip, and a two liter bottle of Dr. Pepper, Chloe's favorite soft drink.

"That'll be $42.81. Anything else, Chloe?"

"Nope, I'm good. Don't spend this all in one place." She chides as she hands him hundred dollar bill.

"Boy, am I going to miss you."

"Me or my tips?" Chloe asks jokingly as she cracks the first smile of the day.

"Both." Tony lets out as he blushes.

"Well, I was a waitress all through my undergrad years, so I know how hard it is."

"Thank you."

"Bye."

Once she has closed the door, Chloe popped a CD into her little boom box and devoured her treats while listening to some of the saddest love songs ever written.


	3. The Knock

Chapter 3: The Knock

Right in the middle of Aerosmith's _Crying_, Chloe heard a knock at the door. She ran into the bathroom and washed the chocolate and pizza sauce off her face then dashed to the peephole to see who it was. She could just feel all the blood leave her head when she saw her former boss on the other side of the door. She opened the door just a crack and stuck her head out.

"Hello, Chloe. Mind if I come in?"

"I'd rather you didn't. Boxes everywhere. It's kinda a mess." It wasn't a lie; there really were boxes everywhere: empty tissue boxes.

"I understand. First of all, thanks for cleaning up the lab. It made my life sooooooooooo much easier. Besides, you know where all the stuff goes anyway. Second, did you happen to see my MIT sweatshirt anywhere?"

"No, sir. I didn't." O.K. That _was_ a lie. "You might want to see if the station has a lost and found."

"Oh well. Anyway, I also wanted to see if I could take you out to dinner tonight. After a great assistant you were, I figure it's the least I could do."

"Sure. Sounds great." That one took her by surprise.

"Awesome! The reservations are for eight o' clock, so I'll be back around seven. That gives you an hour and a half to get ready. Will that be enough time?"

"Should be."

"Excellent. Then I will see you at seven."

As soon as Chloe closed and locked the door, she went into total panic mode. After she crammed all the leftover pizza and other junk food into the fridge and stuffed all the trash into the coat closet, she jumped into the bathroom and took a shower that would make even the most fanatic environmentalist beam with pride. Then came the most daunting task of the entire day: deciding what to wear.

She thought about wearing a simple khaki skirt and a sweater over an ordinary blouse. She didn't want to give the impression that she was hoping to turn this outing into a (gasp) date. Then again, he did say that he had made reservations, meaning that they were probably going somewhere rather nice. On the other hand, she knew people to make reservations at Mickey's Pizza Galaxy. She decided to go ahead and call Jay.

"Where exactly are we going?"

"Can't tell you, Sweetheart. It's a surprise."

"But I need to know how I should dress."

"You women worry way too much about that sort of thing. You looked gorgeous when I saw you about an hour ago. But if you must know, we are going somewhere rather formal."

"Who's going to be there?"

"Just the two of us, Darling."

"All right."

So with that, Chloe pulls out her favorite fifties-style black dress, the matching shoes and purse then she whips on some make-up and messes with her hair before shoving in some contacts. Suddenly, she hears another knock at the door. She looks at the clock and realizes that it's fifteen after.

"Hello." She squeaks out as she lets the love of her life in the door. He hands her a dozen roses in a vase, which she sets on the coffee table.

"Omigod!" he exclaims.

"What's the matter?"

"You look absolutely stunning. Especially your eyes."

"Thank you, I think. I just hope that you don't think I'm trying to turn tonight into a date because I'm not."

"There is no way that you can turn it into a date."

"O.K." Chloe felt her heart sink past her ankle strap and into the two-inch heel of her shoe.

Jay lifts her chin and kisses her gently on the lips. "It already is a date, Baby." He whispered.


	4. Oh what a Night

Chapter 4: Oh what a Night

Chloe couldn't believe her eyes when Jay stopped the car. At first, she thought that he was just stopping to ask for directions (even though that was totally out of his character or that of any other man of his intellect). But then he walked right up to the host and gave him his name. The host escorted them up a spiral staircase and out onto a balcony which overlooked Los Vegas and the mountains. After he lights the candles and sets two menus on the table, the host tries to help Chloe into her seat, but Jay motions him not to and proceeds to seat her himself.

"Could you just bring us a bottle of your best champagne?"

"Certainly, sir." And about five minutes late, the pair noses were filled with bubbles.

As the evening progressed, Chloe got to feeling more like she was with one of her oldest and closest friends instead of a boss that barely treated her like a human being. They talked about everything from their families to jokes to recipes to their favorite movies.

"You honestly like film noir?" Jay asked as he put a piece of roll in his mouth.

"Love it. They just don't make movies as good as they used to."

"I totally agree. Have you seen _Citizen Kane_?"

"That was my favorite movie as a teenager! Unfortunately, my VCR broke about two years ago, and the DVD is really hard it find."

"Well, I have it, so if you want, you can come over and watch it. This time, jeans and my sweatshirt will do just fine. And yes, it will be our second date. "

Chloe blushed with shame. "I am so sorry about that. Wait, how do you know I took it?"

"I saw it in the corner at your apartment. Besides, while you are brilliant at many, many things, lying is not one of them. You lie worse than a nun."

"You're not mad, are you?"

"No. It just confirms all the suspicion I've had since I left to fight the Jaffa."

"What suspicion?"

Just then, Jay's cell phone rang. He looked at the caller ID then answered it. "Hello?... Oh dear (looks at his watch) …………. No, we're still coming. Dinner just took a little longer than expected. We'll see you in about an hour. Is her surprise there yet? ……… Oh well. You might want to call him. Bye."

"What was that all about?"

"That's Classified Information, my dear. Let's go now." Lucky for them, the waiter heard what he said and came right over.

"May we have the check?"

"Yes, sir." The waiter said as he handed Jay the check. Jay looks it over, pulls out his wallet and sticks some cash in the leather thing, and hands it back to the waiter. The waiter hands two mints to Jay who hands one of them to Chloe. Then they hurry out to the parking lot. Once Jay gets Chloe into the car, he closes the door and then walks about ten feet away. Chloe sees him make another call on his cell phone then he rushed back to the car, get in, and started driving in the opposite direction from the base.

"We're not going back to SGC, are we?" Chloe asked.

"Nope."


	5. Air Supply and Boston Cream Pie

Chapter 4: Air Supply and Boston Cream Pie

About ten minutes later, the Los Vegas skyline was in the far distance. Suddenly, Jay turns on the radio, and what Chloe hears makes her heart skip a beat.

"_This is Sensual Susan taking requests and dedications, and it looks as though we have a caller. What can I do for you tonight, Jay?"_

"Omigod! That's you, isn't it?" Chloe exclaims as Jay hushes her by putting his index finger up to his lips.

"_Well, Susan, I have a very special woman in my life, and I thought a certain song would be the perfect way to tell her how I feel."_

"_What song did you have in mind?"_

"'_Just as I am' by Air Supply."_

"I've never heard that song before." Cloe said under her breath.

"_All right, and does this 'very special woman' have a name." _

"_Chloe."_

"_O.K, Chloe, I hope you are listening tonight."_

When the song started to repeat the chorus, Jay took Chloe's hand and started singing along. She felt as though she was going to melt right there in the car. When the song ended, he kissed the back of her hand, set it gently in her lap, and then turned off the radio. Chloe just sat there, not knowing what to say, do, or even think. Tears were streaming down her check, and she reached into her handbag for a handkerchief. The car was silent for the rest of the ride. But it was not that awkward silence that permeates most of the space and time of most dates. This was a more contemplative silence, a chance for Jay to see how Chloe is reacting and for Chloe to adjust to the shock of what she had just experienced.

About an hour after they left the restaurant, Jay pulled into what looks like a gravel driveway. They pull up to a small house with a couple of old clunkers in the driveway and pathway leading to what Chloe assumed was the backyard. Chloe notices the porch light come on, the door open, and a lady who looks to be in her sixties stand in the doorway. She has white hair that is tied up in a bun and is wearing a blouse and slacks. Jay stops the car, gets out, runs to Chloe's side, and helps her out. He gently puts his arm around her as they walk up to the house.

"Mom, this is Chloe." Jay said when they finally reach the front porch.

"So I finally get to meet you." The old woman says as she hugs Chloe. "I feel like I know you already. Jay speaks of little else." Jay blushed.

"Isn't she as beautiful as I told you, Mom? If we got married, you'd have one of the prettiest daughters-in-law in the galaxy." Now Chloe blushed.

"Well, come on in, you two." Mrs. Felger said as she opened the screen door. "Chloe's

d-" Jay does the cut-off gesture. "Sorry, Jay. Chloe's surprise is still caught in traffic, but he said to dig in without him." Just then, a man that Chloe knew very well appeared at the door.

"Daddy?"

"Hey, Pumpkin." (to Jay and Mrs. Felger)"Sorry, but I got lost. I hope y'all didn't wait for me." He hugs Chloe so tight that her feet leave the floor.

"No, sir. Chloe and I have just gotten her. May I have a word with you in the den?"

"Certianly, Son." Mr. McKellow was a tall and thin man with silver hair and a thick beard. He had deep southern accent and a gentlemanly way of carrying himself.

"Chloe, would you mind helping me in the kitchen while the men have their little chat?"

"Not at all, m'am." Chloe said regressing to her southern accent. (She had trained herself to talk without the accent to make herself sound more educated at SGC.)

A few minutes late, everyone congregated around the kitchen table and ate Boston cream pie, Jay favorite dessert. Chloe and her father teased the Felgers about being "damn Yankees", and the Felgers teased back, reminding their guests that their side won the war.

"Alrighty, now." Jay said as he calmed down his laughter. "Chloe, why don't you and I go for walk."

"You kids just can't wait to get away from us old farts, can you?" Mrs. Felger teased.

"Nope." Jay replied.


	6. Everything Revealed

Chapter 5: A Walk to Remember

Jay and Chloe go out the back door and follow the path into a piney forest. Chloe shivers a little, and Jay takes off his dinner jacket to wrap it around her.

"Thank you. But aren't you cold?" Chloe had returned to the way she talks at SGC.

"I'm a "damn Yankee," remember?"

"Now don't you start that again." The southern drawl returned.

"All right. " From that point on, they walked in silence, fingers intertwined, until they got to a bridge. (Yes, the same bridge that was show in Avenger 2.0). They stood at the top and warmly embraced each other. The moon was shining down so brightly that they could see every detail of each others faces as if it were the middle of the afternoon.

"Why did you kiss me the other day?" Jay asked with a look that pierced right through Chloe. Her ease and calmness shuddered as she ran as fast as she could away from him. He chased after her and grabbed her by the arm.

"Chloe, if you have feelings for me, it's all right. In case you haven't noticed, I feel the same way about you. You really do have nice eyes, Chloe. You should wear contacts more often." Jay wrapped his arms around Chloe's waist.

"Thank you." Chloe rested her head on Jay's shoulder, feeling a lot calmer.

"I want to tell you something, but I need you to promise that you won't freak out."

"I'll do my best."

"Allrighty. Chloe, I love you."

Chloe had been waiting forever to hear him say that, so it took her a couple seconds to catch her breath. Then a bright smile came across her face. "I love you, too." She whispered as she threw her arms around his neck and planted a big wet one on his cheek. They kissed passionately for about two minutes before Chloe pushed him away.

"Wait. Wait. Wait. What about Carter?"

"What about her?"

'"You were drooling all over her about three days ago. And now you want a relationship with me? I cannot be your second choice."

"You're not. I guess you _do _deserve an explanation."

"Darn right, I do."

He leads her to a nearby bench where he sits her down. Then he sits on the other side of the bench facing the other direction.

"Well, when you and I first got together, I knew within a month that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you, take care of you, have children with you. You stirred feelings in me that I had never before experienced before. I longed to have you by my side forever. But at the same time, I feared your rejection more than I have ever feared the Goa'uld. You mean everything to me. Carter was just an infatuation. You're my love."

"So why have you been a jerk to be for so long if you love me as much as you claim to?" Jay gets up and starts pacing back and forth.

"Protection. I went out of my way to be a jerk to you so that you would have no idea how I truly felt. Carter turned into a convenient way to throw you off the scent. But everything changed when you kissed me. There was hope. The possibility existed that you might love me, too. So I decided to risk it all. Hence, tonight. You know that when I do something, I do it big. I know I promised I wouldn't do this again, but I had to.

You see, I resigned SGC and fired you so that you and I would no longer be bound by professional restrictions. I told your dad that if something went wrong, he was to just show up at your apartment tomorrow claiming to want to help you move and not tell you anything about my calling him. You know me. I'm a risk taker. I don't expect you to understand everything or even a small part of what's been going on, (he sits back down on the bench and takes her hands into his.) but I hope that you will at least believe me when I say that there's only one other women in my life besides you, and she's in that house. I hurt you in the name of protecting myself.

I have ignored you, berated you, dismissed some of your best ideas, and even made you watch me throw myself at another woman, and you have taken it all better that any other woman in the entire galaxy would have, including Major Carter. I don't think she has even one millionth of the patience that you do. In spite of how I treated you, you continued to be the sweet and supported angel that I love. Anyway, I'm sorry. You deserve better in a lover."

Chloe takes a deep breath and sits silently for a few seconds with no real definite expression on her face. Jay sits back down and puts his hand on Chloe's hands which are folded in her lap. The silence is killing him. "All I want right now is to hear your voice. Just say something. Anything." Chloe stayed silent for a couple more minutes. "Are you angry?" Jay asked desperately.

"I was being quiet because right now because I am afraid that my alarm clock will soon go off and this whole evening will have been a dream." Jay scooted a little closer and wraps his arm around her. She rested her head in his bosom, and they both just sat there for a few minutes to savor the moment. Then Jay opened his mouth again.

"I'm going to take one more risk, them I swear I will stop. Chloe, will you marry me?"


	7. Chloe's Reaction

Chapter 7: Marriage?

Okay. This whole date and romance thing had gotten a little out of hand. The roses and dinner were nice. The song was awesome but a little over the top. Taking her home to meet Mom and having her dad there was getting borderline, but this is Jay Felger we're talking about here, so it's still all good. Saying 'I love you' might have been a bit hasty, but they had both been wanting to say it for ages. But marriage?

"Marriage? Are you serious?"

"Yes."

"But marriage?"

"Why not? We love each other. We want to spend the rest of our lives together. As I see it, the next thing to do is to get married."

"But this is only the first date. Shouldn't we get to know each other a little first."

"We have been spending all day every day together for the past two and a half years. We know each other fairly well, don't we?"

"I know Dr. Felger. I don't really know Jay. You know Dr. Weston. You don't really know Chloe. We've never really talked about anything that didn't pertain to our projects at SGC until tonight. Anyone who really knows me on a personal level know very well about my obsession with film noir and really anything dealing with the late 40s and 50s, that I love to swing dance. We've never talked about anything like politics, religion, philosophy or any other personal subjects that two people getting married discuss on a regular basis. You mentioned children. We have yet to discuss how many we want or our respective parenting philosophies."

"So are you saying 'no'? That you don't truly love me?"

"I'm saying let's date a while before making such an important decision. Let's get to know each other. Let's wait until it no longer feels weird to see each other outside of the lab. Let me get used to the idea of having such an intimate relationship with you. If we are going to spend the rest of our lives together, what's the rush? And I do love you with all my heart. I just want to be courted a little more before jumping into marriage. Can you blame me?"

"No. I guess not. Are we still on for tomorrow?"

"Of course. At noon, I have to meet with General O'Nell one more time, so I'll call you as soon as I get back to my apartment, allrighty?"

"Okay." Jay put his arm around Chloe as they strolled back towards the house.

When they got to the house, Mrs. Felger was a tad concerned. "You two do realize that it's almost 4 in the morning, don't you? Maybe you should spend the night here."

"But I don't have anything for overnight." Chloe protested.

"I can lend you some clothing, and you can sleep in the guest bedroom." Mrs. Felger reassured.

"All right, then. Just make sure that Jay behaves." Chloe teased.

"How can I get randy with my mother down the hall?" Jay exclaimed.

"Good point." Chloe said as all three laughed.

Mrs. Felger showed Chloe the guest bedroom, gave her a nightgown, and gave her a toothbrush. After Chloe brushed her teeth, washed the make-up off her face with a bar of soap near the sink, and changed into the night gown, she crawled into bed. But she was way to excited to sleep. About two hours later, she heard someone enter the room. It was Jay. She pretended to still be asleep as to see what he was going to do. He simply pulled the covers over her shoulders, kissed her on the forehead, and whispered "I love you, Chloe" in her ear. Then he quietly left.


	8. A Little Miss Communication

Chapter 8: A Little Miss Communication

"Thank you, Mrs. Felger." Chloe said as she and Jay got into the car the following moring.

"Not at all, Dear. I'm just glad that I finally got to meet you. Now Jay, you drive safely, alrighty?"

"Yes, Mother." Jay said in a less than enthusiastic tone.

Jay and Chloe just held hands and enjoyed being together the entire trip back to Stargate Command. They didn't talk because no words were really necessary right now. They were in love, and they could finally bask in that love. They occasionally exchanged smiles and winks, and now and again they kissed each others hands, but for the most part, they just both sat and contemplated what had happened in the last twelve hours. When they got back to Chloe's apartment, they kissed lightly on the lips before Chloe got out of the car. It was raining, so Chloe had to hurry to her apartment as fast as she could. She unlocked the door to her apartment, stepped inside, and had just put some more water in the vase of roses when there was a knock on the door.

"Probably Jay coming to tell me that he missed me already." She thought to herself. Instead, it was Major Carter.

"Major Carter, come on in out of the rain. What may I do for you?"

"First of all, you may call me "Sam." You are no longer with SGC, and it would make me feel a lot more comfortable."

"All right. So what brings you here …… Sam?"

"I must apologize to you. I feel absolutely horrible."

"For what? I don't understand."

"You and Doctor Felger went out last night, right?"

"How do you know about that?"

"Well, I noticed that you were looking at him a certain way while we were working on Avenger. You're in love with him, aren't you?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"Painfully."

"Well, you should know. You look at O'Nell the same way."

"Is it that obvious?"

"Painfully."

"Anyway, I also know that Jay has been infatuated with me for ages. So basically, I told him that if he went out on a date with you, he could then take me out on a date."

"WHAT!" Chloe reached behind her until she felt her couch then plopped down. "Do you mean to tell me that the only reason why Jay went out with me last night was so that he could go out with you tonight?"

"I think so. I am so sorry, but I thought it would be better if you found out sooner than later."

"I think you should leave now." Chloe whispered as tears started to flow down her cheeks.

"Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Just go. I hope you both have the rotten evening you fiends deserve."

As Sam was getting ready to leave, there was a knock at the door. Of course it was Jay. He was soaked from the rain. "Well, Chloe, are you ready for some fun?" Then he noticed Sam. "Major Carter, what are you doing here?"

"She just came here to tell me what's really going on. Isn't that nice of her?" Chloe said folding her arms and giving Jay daggers for a look.

"I can explain."

"I don't want to hear it. You finally get your wish: a date with the woman of your dreams. Now leave me alone."

"But I had a date with the woman of my dreams last night."

"Both of you had better leave right now before one of you gets hurt."

Reluctantly, both of the guests left the apartment. Jay turned around and tried to say something, but Sam stopped him.


	9. Carter Finally Screws Up

Chapter 8: Major Carter Finally Screws Up (Caution: Mild Profanity)

"Oh, you picked the absolutely best time to finally screw up." Jay told Sam outside Chloe's apartment. His statement was dripping with sarcasm.

"I'm sorry. I thought she had the right to know before she started getting any kind of false hope."

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe I have feelings for her as well? Of course, not. You have your head so far up your ass that you think that you're the only woman on God's green earth that I can be attracted to. Or maybe in some sick, perverted way, you can't stand my paying attention to someone else, even though you were never attracted to me in the first place. Do you have any idea what happened last night?"

"I assumed that you just took her over to the cafeteria for a burger or maybe even just coffee."

"No. I took her to the nicest, most romantic restaurant in Los Vegas. Then, we went over to my mother's house for desert. We took a little stroll. I told her that I loved her, which I do. I even asked her to marry me. Now does that sound like a mercy date to you?"

"No, it doesn't. I'm sorry for getting in the way. I had no idea what was going on."

"Well, maybe you should get your facts straight before you start poking your nose where it doesn't belong. I may have been infatuated with you. I might even go as far as to say that I had a crush on you, but I am _in love_ with Chloe. Before, I was afraid to pursue things with her because I didn't think I could handle that kind of rejection.

You rejected me, and it was just a small injury to my ego. She rejects me, and I feel as I would die from a broken heart. She makes me a better man. I know that I can let my guard down with her. I knew that she would always be there for me, until now. Do you have any idea how great that made me feel? Do you even know why I resigned?"

"I assumed it was because you could no longer handle the stress."

"I resigned so that Chloe and I would no longer be tied to silly professional restrictions. The biggest reason why I was holding on to SGC was so I could see her everyday. I even acted extra gruff to her to hide my unrequited love. But, just before you and I left for P5S-117, she kissed me, and I knew that there was hope. So I gave up everything to do with Stargate Command just to be with her. But now, she won't even talk to me. I know she still loves me. But now that she thinks I just went out with her for a chance to go out with you."

"So do you want to still hang out with me just to get your mind off things?"

"No. I've got to figure out some miracle that will help me patch things up with Chloe. No thanks to you, I have lost every chance I ever had with the most beautiful, special lady I have ever known."

"No, you haven't." The two finally noticed Chloe's head poking out her door.


	10. Reconciliation

Chapter 10: Reconciliation

"Jay, I am so sorry." Chloe said sheepishly as she stepped outside her apartment. "Can you please forgive me?"

"Chloe, there's nothing to forgive on your part."

"Yes, there is. I jumped to all the wrong conclusions without listening to your side of the story. I was so eager to believe that last night wasn't real that I shut you out. Can we pick up where we left of?"

"Of course we can, Sweetheart."

"I guess this is where I leave." Sam said as she headed for her car.

Chloe took Jay's hand and they walked back into Chloe's apartment. Once they were situated on the couch with an old quilt draped over them and Chloe's head in Jay's bosom, she started to prod him.

"Jay, remember that question you asked me last night?"

"Yes."

"Will you be asking it again?"

"Most certainly."

"How would you ask it?"

"Oh, I'd probably get down on one knee."

"Show me."

"All right." Jay gets off the couch and kneels on the floor.

"Now, what exactly would you say?"

"I don't know. Probably something like, 'Chloe, I love you with all my heart. Will you marry me?'"

"Yes."

"What?"

"Yes."

"You'll marry me?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"What about everything you said last night? What changed?"

"I needed proof that you were over Major Carter, and I got it."

"I do love you, my future wife."

"And I love you, my future husband."

(fifteen years later)

"And that's the story of how your father and I got together." Chloe finished as she held her fourteen-year-old daughter close to her.

"Wow! That's amazing." The daughter replied.

"Well, good night, Honey." Chloe said as she got up and headed for the master bedroom.

"Good night, Mom."

A few minutes later, Jay walked past and poked his head in.

"Did that help you feel better, Pumpkin?"

"Yea. Good night, Daddy."

"Good night, Sam. Remember: The night always follows the day." Jay said as he tucked his daughter in, turned out the light, then went to join his wife in their room.


End file.
